Dehumidifiers have been used for many years in various forms to remove excess moisture from the air. There are three basic types of dehumidifiers: refrigeration, deliquescent, and desiccant. In all three types, moist air is drawn into the dehumidifier by a motor driven fan and the dehumidified air exits the system back into the surrounding atmosphere. In a desiccant dehumidifier, desiccant material in the form of a reusable drying wheel is used to absorb liquid. In a deliquescent dehumidifier, non-reusable desiccant material is used to absorb moisture, which is then condensed to a liquid and channeled to an exit path or receptacle. Commercial portable dehumidifiers have been used extensively for clean up of humid air after a flood or a fire where sprinkler systems have been activated. Large deliquescent and desiccant dehumidifiers are used for commercial purposes because of the high volume air they can dry. These types of dehumidifiers, although portable and efficient, are costly to manufacture and store, usually being held for emergency use.
Air purification of many different types are well known. Generally, air is moved via a motor driven fan through some type of filtering or odor removing media. Commercial portable air purifiers have been used to filter malodors and fine particulates from the air in situations such as smoke damage, paint or other toxic smells, and where extremely filtered air is required, such as in hospitals. To purify under such conditions, the air intake must be high volume to effectively filter out the dust/particulates and odors. This type of air purifier is large, and, as such, takes up a lot of space, and is expensive.
Commercial portable dehumidifiers and air purifiers have been available as two separate pieces of equipment that are large and expensive. Although some dehumidifiers have added filtering during the dehumidification process, the applicant believes none have addressed providing a separate full-flow filter for rapid, inexpensive conversion between a dehumidifier and an air purifier. This invention addresses this issue.